At CIS, we prioritize regular attendance for several reasons:
Safety: Knowing who is on campus is vital for child protection reasons.
Academic Success: Consistent attendance strengthens the link between learning and achievement.
Positive School Culture: Regular participation allows students to contribute to the school spirit and build strong relationships.
We encourage all students to aim for 100% attendance. This fosters confidence, resilience, and good work habits while promoting strong connections with teachers and peers.
MONITORING
To ensure all students are on track, attendance is monitored at several levels, with the minimum attendance set at 90% for all secondary students.
Subject teachers: Take attendance in each class, providing an immediate first line of monitoring.
Student Affairs Office & Heads of Year: Collaborate with subject teachers to track attendance patterns and offer support to students who may be struggling.
Documented interventions: If a student's attendance falls below the minimum required to move to the next year level, proactive steps are taken throughout the year to address the issue and get them back on track.
Year 13 graduation: Maintaining a minimum attendance level is a vital requirement for graduation, ensuring Year 13 students are fully prepared for their final year.
Additional Information:
Student wellbeing is a priority and, as such, students who feel unwell in the morning should stay home and recover for the day.
Unexcused Absences: Parents/guardians are required to provide a written explanation for any unexcused absences.
If parents are away from Hong Kong:
Appoint a Guardian: A guardian must be designated, the ‘Temporary Guardian’ section of PowerSchool completed, and the Secondary Office and Student Affairs Office informed.
Travel Notification: For any student whose parents are traveling, it is essential that the school is notified. This allows the school to maintain up-to-date contact information in case of emergencies. Additionally, being aware of potential changes in a student’s home environment helps the school to identify any circumstances that may impact their wellbeing at school.
Reporting of student absences to the Education Bureau: It is mandatory for schools to report any student's leave of absence that extends to 7 days or more to the Education Bureau, irrespective of the reasons for the absence. This notification helps the Education Bureau maintain accurate attendance records and enables them to monitor and support students' safety, wellbeing and educational progress.
TYPES OF ABSENCE
There are two types of absences: excused and unexcused.
Excused Absence occurs when a student is unable to attend school because of:
Student illness
Some justifiable cause (weather, religious/family observance)
Medical/dental treatment
Pre-approved leave of absence from the Head of Secondary (see below)
When students are unable to attend school, it is essential that the school is informed and parents/guardians must contact either the Secondary Office or Student Affairs Office by 745am on the morning of the absence.
Secondary Office:
2512 5813 or secondaryoffice@cis.edu.hk
Student Affairs Office:
2512 5812 or studentaffairs@cis.edu.hk / bwong@cis.edu.hk
Excused Absence During School Hours:
If a student becomes ill, they should visit the school nurse.
The nurse will recommend returning to class, being picked up by a parent/guardian and taken home, or being picked up by a parent/guardian to seek further medical attention. (NB. Y11-13 students can arrange to go home by themselves.)
Unexcused Absences are absences that are not explained, not justified, or not approved. These include holiday trips when school is in session.
REQUESTING A GENERAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE (3+ Days):
In order for the school to be able to fulfill its obligation to deliver a programme of the highest quality, it is imperative that the school, in partnership with parents, be in a position to closely monitor requests for leaves of absence beyond normal school holidays. As such, absences of three days or more require prior approval. In cases where this leave is granted, students must accept responsibility to keep up with academic work during the time they are away.
Process for Requesting a General Leave of Absence
Parents must submit an email request to the Head of Secondary at least two weeks in advance, explaining the reason for the leave and copying the advisor, Head of Year and Ms Brankie Wong (bwong@cis.edu.hk) .
If approved, the student must communicate with their teachers before leaving to get details of work that must be completed in their absence. The student is responsible for ensuring that all work missed during the absence is completed.
In deciding whether to ask the school for a leave of absence, parents should bear in mind that missed instruction, classroom discussion and guided practice can never be fully compensated for by make-up work. Any absence affects learning, and this may be reflected in the evaluation of performance to some degree. This must be an accepted consequence in making the decision for a planned absence. For students in the advanced stages of examination courses, the importance of these detrimental factors is accentuated.
REQUESTING A PERSONAL/MEDICAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Students experiencing a physical or psychological illness may request a leave of absence.
Process for Requesting a Personal/Medical Leave of Absence
The medical professional providing treatment to the student will, with the family’s consent and support, write a letter confirming the need for leave and its expected duration.
Parents must submit a written request to the Head of Secondary, accompanied by the letter from the medical professional and any other relevant medical documentation.
Students granted a Personal/Medical Leave of Absence may be asked to show that the condition which caused the leave has been alleviated to the extent that they can resume their studies. At the request of the family, a medical professional will complete a ‘readiness to return’ letter and address it to the Head of the Secondary, who will make the final decision as to the timing of the student’s return.
All records relating to a Personal/Medical Leave of Absence are treated as confidential.
PUNCTUALITY
Being on time allows students to maximize their learning. It also builds valuable life skills like time management and responsibility. Additionally, it shows respect for teachers and classmates and fosters a positive and focused learning environment for everyone.
School Arrival: Morning registration is at 7:55 am. To be fully prepared for the day, students should be at school by 7:45 am.
Class Punctuality: Teachers take attendance at the beginning of each class. Students are responsible for arriving on time and prepared.
Chronic Lateness: Students who are habitually late will be invited to reflect on the importance of punctuality.
SIGNING IN & OUT
When students are late to school (i.e. they arrive after 7:55 am), they must complete the sign-in procedure in the Student Affairs Office (Room 331). If a student has three Unexcused Lates, there will be follow up by the Head of Year. (NB. An unavoidably late school bus does not constitute an Unexcused Late and, as such, does not affect a student's record.)
General Sign-Out
Students must obtain and complete a “Green Slip” for “Permission to Leave School” from the Student Affairs Office or Health Office. This must be presented politely and voluntarily at the Guard Station.
Any student leaving the school grounds without going through the proper procedures will be treated as absent without permission and consequences will be applied.
If students are sick whilst at school, they must:
Go to the Health Office (Room 160).
The Health Office will provide either a white form or a green form:
If a student receives a white form, they are to return to class immediately and give the form to the teacher.
If a student receives a green form, they must immediately go to the Student Affairs Office to sign out and go home.
Year 12 & 13 Sign-Out
If students have no afternoon class or if they would like to sign out for lunch, they may sign out using their CIS Student Card. The procedure for this is as follows:
Students are not permitted to sign out before 12:00 pm.
Students may only leave school using the main exit of the New Tower (Block 0) and must sign out by tapping their student card at the gantry.
On returning to school, students must sign in again by tapping their student card on the card scanner.
If a student does not have their Student Card, they may NOT leave school.
At NO time should students sign out through Moon Gate, with the exception of when exams are taking place in the LSG.
Sign out privileges need to be respected and could be removed if the system is abused.
Reminder: Students who have Period 1 free MUST be in school in time to attend their first period of the day and have signed in at the Student Affairs Office.
COURSE OF ACTION WHEN STUDENTS SKIP CLASS
First Offense (Level 3)
If it becomes apparent that a student has skipped class, the subject teacher will assign the student a Friday Reflection and inform the Head of Department (HOD), the student's Advisor, and the Head of Year.
The subject teacher will send an email explaining the reflection to Ms. Brankie Wong, who will send an email to parents outlining the incident and school policy. A copy of this email will be placed in the student's file.
The HOD and Head of Year will keep a record of the student's name, reason for reflection, and date.
Second Offense (Level 4)
Skipping class a second time in the same academic year results in a one-day in-school suspension. Parents will be called in to meet with the Head of Year, Director of Studies, and/or Head of Secondary to discuss the situation.
The student will be assigned work for the missed day and complete the suspension under supervision in the Secondary Office.
The HOD and Head of Year will record the student's name, reason for suspension, and date.
Third Offense (Level 4)
A third offense triggers a full suspension from school for one or two days (determined by the Head of Secondary). Parents will again meet with the Head of Year, Director of Academic Affairs, and/or Head of Secondary to discuss the situation.
This suspension will be documented on the student's formal school record and university application forms.
Fourth Offense (Level 5)
If a student skips a class for a fourth time in the same academic year, they are jeopardizing their position in the school, and the parents may be asked to withdraw the student from school.